Eshin Direct

Harbour Pains

Today I got told that I was no longer to build the website for the Friends of the Harbour Society. It turns out that someone with more authority than the Chair overruled it and decided to contract it out for HKD 25k. The decision was based on past experience since the other contractor had built the person’s other website. Well, I guess it’s HK so this sort of thing happens through personal contacts and I guess I went from being on the good end of that custom to being on the raw end of that custom. So can’t really complain there. But they are taking the wrong decision.

The purpose for the website was to deploy a powerful and functional tool for the Friends society. It would serve as their online focal point capable of giving something back to the members that support it. It would also serves a influential rallying tool for the society. It was to be a system that was capable to get information out to the masses quickly and effectively. This was why the original website needed work. It was broken on a strategic level with its administrative deployment in shambles.

Yet, this decision to go with this alternative is the wrong one. I have looked at his online portfolio and while I am impressed and respect his graphic design, he has only provide examples of static website deployment. He is design based but towards managing the project as a whole, it remains to be seen. There is no evidence of backend website project management – applications and security audits, scripting, audience management, or even building dynamic websites.

In all, I’m sure he’s a capable designer and he’ll give it 25k makeover. But at the end of the day, that was not was wrong with the Friends of the Harbour website in the first place. It’s a shame that many think that a pretty online presences doth make an e-strategy still. We shall see where this goes…but it looks like I’m out of this web project.